Eco Factor: Sustainable building powered by renewable energy.
The University of British Columbia will soon be having the greenest building in North America that will serve as the Center for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS). The $37 million building will be greenhouse gas-positive and a net energy producer, meaning that it will help UBC reduce the energy it uses and carbon it emits.
CIRS will be supplied by energy generated on-site and from renewable energy sources. The building will be equipped with on-site fuel cells, a photovoltaic array, solar hot water collectors, ground source heat pumps, a biomass co-generation system and a glazing treatment to reduce solar heat gain and loss.
Designed by Busby Perkins + Will the CIRS will be a state-of-the-art “living-lab” in which researchers from leading academic institutions can perform research on the assessment of current and future building systems and technologies. Building processes will be continuously monitored, including heating, cooling, lighting, equipment use, building occupancy, inhabitant behavior and more.
Moreover, CIRS will capture, store and reuse all stormwater and rainwater on site from exterior and interior building process loads, eliminating the facility’s dependence on municipal infrastructure.
Images Courtesy: Busby Perkins + Will
Via University of British Columbia [Press Release]
